


things that go bump in the night

by AccioInvisibilityCloak



Category: Lovely Little Losers, Nothing Much to Do
Genre: Being protective of each other, Cat, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:18:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8875639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioInvisibilityCloak/pseuds/AccioInvisibilityCloak
Summary: When strange noises in their flat cause Ben's overtired mind to run away with him, Beatrice is there to save the day.





	

*******

It’s late, and Ben is finally about to drift off to sleep. Watching creepy TV shows late at night has never been a good idea, but there’s the familiar room and the warm bed and the gentle breathing of Beatrice next to him, calming and certain. It’s hard to feel afraid here, at home.

A loud CRASH echoes from across their flat, jolting him out of the dusk of almost-sleep. Beatrice is also awake now, rubbing a hand across her eyes.

“What the hell?” Ben gasps, his mind quickly filling with all the dangerous criminals and Death Eaters and Ringwraiths that could be in their living room right now. He _really_ needs to quit watching TV and thinking about his fandoms before bed.

“One of us should probably go and see what that was,” Beatrice says reluctantly, clutching her half of the covers.

Ben sighs and pulls back his own side of the covers. “Right then, time to die, I guess.”

“Wait, who said it was automatically _you_ getting up?” Bea frowns. “You’re really not even going to fight me on it?”

“I dunno, I just thought… well, isn’t it always the husband who has to get up and investigate the danger and probably get punched in the face or something?” Ben winces at the thought. “So, here I go. Facing the monsters with all the grace of a wet noodle.”

“No, okay, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Bea laughs. “You do not have to be all macho just because you’re a man. I can take care of myself. And since when do we listen to stereotypes like that? We’re not even married yet!”

“…yet?” Ben grins, something warm and wonderful flaring in his chest at the realization of what his girlfriend just implied. If he’s being honest, it does feel almost inevitable- but it’s still really nice to know she thinks so, too.

“Shut up,” Bea says, and even in the dark, he can tell she’s blushing. “The point is, all that girls-can’t-fight stuff is stupid. I like your face. If I can help stop someone punching it, I want to.”

“Gee, thanks, love. My face appreciates it.”

Bea rolls her eyes, falling back against the pillows. “So you do admit I’m capable, though?”

“Of course!” Ben protests. “I never said you weren’t. If you want to get up and find out what that noise was, go for it. I don’t mind staying in bed. It’s cold out there anyway.”

As if to illustrate his point, Ben’s cold foot brushes against Bea’s under the blankets and she squeals, pulling away from him before their feet can touch again. He immediately makes it a point to touch her with his feet as much as possible, just to bug her. They very quickly get so busy laughing and tickling each other with cold limbs that all thoughts of getting up are quickly forgotten.

Until there’s another crash from out in the living room.

“Oh no you don’t,” Beatrice says, getting up to check what’s going on. “Don’t worry, Ben, I’ve got this.”

Ben doesn’t actually think there’s anything to worry about, anymore, but he still sits up in bed and watches her fade into the darkness, listening intently, just in case. He doesn't envy whatever runs into her out there.

Another beat of silence, and then Beatrice cries out in pain. He can hear her breathing heavily, swearing under her breath.

“Bea? What happened?”

She doesn’t answer. In another moment, Ben is out of bed and bursting into the darkened living room. There’s a pause in which his mind starts to run away with him, imagining an injured Bea, alone in the dark with some impossible intruder- but then, with a surge of relief, he hears her laugh triumphantly. She’s safe.

 Bea flicks on the light, and Ben blinks and puts up a hand to shield his eyes, disoriented.

“It’s okay, I found our monster,” Bea grins, and Ben realizes that she’s holding Mango, their silly orange cat, in her arms. One of her hands bears a fresh scratch from Mango’s claws, shallow but jagged and bleeding profusely. “She was being naughty and climbing on the bookshelf again, knocking books over. Weren’t you, missy?”

Mango purrs as Beatrice strokes her soft fur, calming her down enough to put her in the spare room for the night, to keep her out of trouble.

“Wait,” says Beatrice as she gently closes the door on Mango for the night. “Ben, did you actually come running out here to save me from our _cat_ just now?”

“I mean… yeah?” Ben admits sheepishly.

“Wow. I don’t even know where to _start_ teasing you for this. But thanks, I guess.” She smiles.

They both do, eagerly heading back to their warm bed. Beatrice stops for a washcloth and a bandage on her way.

“I know you can take care of yourself, Bea,” Ben says as Beatrice returns to curl up comfortably at his side. “But I’m still glad you’re okay.”

“You’re welcome, by the way,” she says, holding up her bandaged hand. “The things I do for you.”

“You always were my knight in shining armor,” Ben whispers into her hair, pleasantly soft against his lips.

“Mmmm…” Bea mumbles sleepily. “G’night, babe.”

“Night, love.”

*******

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally done with finals! Yay! And while I was studying, I was also procrastinating by writing Beadick fluff. So here you go. I hope you enjoyed! :)
> 
> Partly inspired by that one tumblr post that's like: Person A: "Is it bad that one of the main reasons I want a husband is the 24-7 protection from creepy people and things that go bump in the night?" Person B: "To tell you the truth, sometimes I hear a noise at night and I think, 'crap, I'm the husband. Time to go downstairs and die, I guess'"


End file.
